Jucy

We've rented a "Jucy" camper van "caravan" to drive the 1,100 miles (1,750 km) to Brisbane. I like kilometers, they make me feel 60% more productive.

Jack and I have been sleeping in the "Penthouse", a topper that pops up like a vanagon. I'll be lucky if I don't fall out and break something before this is over. Great views of the wildlife from up there though. We'll add our funk to the hundreds of other hippie backpackers who've enjoyed the Jucy before us..

We are on our fourth day now. We've driven 1,100 kilometers around Queensland, mostly in the narrow lowlands between the ocean and the mountains. Occasionally the mountains have met the ocean or we have made forays into the mountains. See subsequent blogs.

I have to say how nice it is to buy food and prepare it ourselves.

We've seen probably millions of acres of sugar cane, three mango groves, three banana groves, a tea farm and one field of some kind of bean.  As far as I can tell, Queensland grows almost only sugar cane. There are thousands of kilometers of narrow gage (maybe 18") railroad criss-crossing the land for the sole purpose of getting cane to the mills. Apparently, the cane needs to get to the mill within 16 hours or the sugar evaporates.

 

As far as I can tell an almost incomprehensibly vast area of Queensland is prone to flooding. The roads are labeled "Roadway subject to flooding indicators show  depth". The gages are typically 1.5 to 2 meters high. There are also electronic signs telling you what road segments are open ahead. This is Australia's main east coast highway!  Many cars have snorkels, most homes are elevated up to 8 feet above the ground and the roads are armored on the downstream side. Maybe it is just during cyclones, but it would be a sight to see.

I've got to say that Aussie wifi, the iCloud and Blogger are conspiring against me. I think wifi in Australia means two tin cans minus the string.  Even when we have paid extra for wifi at luxury hotels, the wifi in Australia hasn't come close to wifi in a treehouse in Thailand. Go figure?!!  When you are lucky, it takes 10+ minutes to upload a photo. Without wifi, the iCloud turns photos into  offensive vapors (30 days before you lose them), and at slow internet speeds, Blogger often makes you upload photos 2 and 3 times. Sorry, but I may need to abandon blogging until we get to Singapore.